Teenage Afghanistan off-spinner AM Ghazanfar has been ruled out of both the ICC Champions Trophy and the IPL due to a lower back fracture.
In the high-scoring contest, a few bowlers delivered notable performances, with R Sai Kishore and Vijaykumar Vyshak making a decisive impact.
Australian opener Matthew Short suffered an injury while fielding but he returned to open the batting and Smith said he could take a few days to recover.
Defeat will severely dent both the teams' dreams of a semi-final berth in the tournament, as South Africa and Australia have already notched two points.
India vice-captain Shubman Gill dethroned Pakistan's Babar Azam from the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI Rankings for batters on the back of his strong showing against England in the recent home series.
Afghanistan may be faced with some off-field distractions in Pakistan with Group B rivals England and South Africa being urged to boycott their matches.
Images from the IPL 2025 match between Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Tuesday.
The tournament was decorated with several impactful players and 12 of them have made it to the ICC Champions Trophy Team of the Tournament.
Joburg Super Kings beat MI Cape Town by six runs via the Duckworth Lewis and Stern method in a rain-affected SA20 clash in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the 50 Most Valuable Players in the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The all-star team announced by the ICC features four players from Sri Lanka, three each from Pakistan and Afghanistan and one from the West Indies.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the final 15-member squad will be announced at the end of a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida.
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
Jasprit Bumrah has reached an impressive milestone in the ICC Men's Test Bowling Rankings, sitting at 904 rating points
All about IPL 2025 which kicks off on March 22, Saturday.
This squad is by far one of the most compact in Punjab's IPL history and with the tactical genius of Ricky Ponting at the helm, it will be a folly to write them off at any time of the competition.
Afghanistan earned a first-ever One Day International victory over a depleted South Africa when they romped to a comfortable six-wicket triumph in the first game of the three-match series in Sharjah on Wednesday.
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Noor Ahmad will join Rashid and Nabi in Afghanistan's formidable spin attack, which is likely to be key to their performance in the 20-team tournament.
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz surpasses Babar Azam, goes level with stalwart Virat Kohli for special feat in ODI
Afghanistan won the second ODI by 177 runs to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Sharjah.
Dasun Shanaka produced a solid all-round performance, which included bowling figures of 4 for 23, as former champions Sri Lanka overcame some jittery moments to down Ireland by 41 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up game in Lauderhill (USA) on Friday.
Did Harpreet Brar take the best catch of the match?
Nicholas Pooran smashed a record-breaking 98 off 53 balls as the West Indies trounced Afghanistan by 104 runs.
IMAGES from the Group 1 Super 8 match, played between India and Afghanistan, in Barbados, on Thursday.
The complete list of players sold in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah.
RR could not have asked for a better start to the season, registering four consecutive wins from as many games.
Gujarat Giants will be wary of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's newfound firepower in the middle-order when the teams clash in the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Rishabh Pant's leadership skills will be under scrutiny as a struggling Delhi Capitals would seek a much-improved performance from their bowlers when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the IPL in New Delhi on Wednesday.
New pace sensation Mayank Yadav will be closely followed by all and sundry after his match-winning performances as Lucknow Super Giants eye a hat-trick of wins when they take on an inconsistent Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League match in Lucknow on Sunday.
Punjab Kings batters to face different challenge against Gujarat Titans
From a maths perspective, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans can still reach the IPL playoffs, but they need to ward off inner gremlins on Saturday to notch a mandatory win to keep that dream flickering.
Chennai Super Kings' batters dazzled before the bowlers ran riot to thrash Gujarat Titans by a thumping 53-run margin.
Shivam Dube proved his utility in India's crowded batting line-up with a belligerent half-century to secure their six-wicket victory against Afghanistan in the opening T20 International in Mohali on Thursday.
Hardik Pandya will be aiming to build on the rich legacy of his predecessor Rohit Sharma when he begins his Mumbai Indians captaincy stint in the IPL 2024 match against Gujarat Titans, a team that the star all-rounder himself marshalled over last two seasons, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
'There are always areas to improve. I think 200 was good enough. When you drop catches, you will be in trouble.'
Middle-order batter Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the side.
Some of the remarkable grabs from the Gujarat Titans-Sunrisers Hyderabad match.
England will be keen to overcome a lack of ideal preparation due to rain and hit the ground running when they face Scotland in their T20 World Cup opener
The two teams last met in the ODI World Cup in 2023. It was in Mumbai where Glenn Maxwell had played a once-in-a-generation knock to notch up a sensational double hundred while battling cramps all over his body, with Pat Cummins in tow who provided sturdy support from the other end.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances